1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming a rolled dough food product. Specifically, this invention relates to a dough-rolling apparatus having a dough sheeter that produces dough preforms with particular shape characteristics, which is rolled into rolled dough preforms.
2. Description of Related Art
Rolled products are found in many different food industries such as croissants, wafer sticks, and frozen/stuffed taquitos. Many prior art processes have been developed to address the complexities of rolling each of these products. For example, the croissant industry generally utilizes a relative speed differential between two belts. Croissants are made from relatively thick dough with a high degree of tackiness, which makes it fairly easy to manipulate. In contrast, the wafer stick industry typically uses a batter that is drum dried, wound around a mandrel at a 45-degree angle, and then cut into pieces.
In the snack food industry, however, the dough used typically comprises one or more starches and/or flour, which dough is then thinly sheeted, cut into pieces, and then toasted, fried and/or baked. Typical dough types include, but are not limited to, the following: potato-, rice-, corn-, and wheat-based doughs. The dough used in such snack products, unlike the dough used in other food industries, is generally very thin, fragile, and difficult to manipulate. This makes typical rolling technology unacceptable for such an application. Additionally, the processing rates required in the snack food industry are very high relative to other industries, making dough-rolling even more difficult. Consequently, a need exists for a dough-rolling apparatus and method that produces rolled snack products that are consistent in texture and flavor.